5 key takeaways from Brad Arthur’s first interview as Leeds Rhinos head coach
Brad Arthur has been appointed Leeds Rhinos head coach for the rest of the season
Brad Arthur has delivered his first interview as Leeds Rhinos head coach, courtesy of Sky Sports reporter Jenna Brooks.
The 50-year-old, who spent a decade in charge of Parramatta Eels in the NRL, has taken the reins at AMT Headingley on a contract until the end of the season, succeeding Rohan Smith who departed last month.
Arthur arrived in England in the early hours on Thursday, and was in attendance at the Halliwell Jones Stadium for the Rhinos‘ trip to Warrington, although it was Chev Walker who took charge of the team given the fact Arthur hadn’t even been in the country for 24 hours.
The Australian did deliver his first interview as head coach on Thursday night though, sitting down with Sky Sports reporter Jenna Brooks. The full interview can be watched here.
There were several talking points Arthur discussed, and Love Rugby League has picked out five takeaways from it..
His contract situation
As aforementioned, Arthur has only signed a deal until the end of the season, with the future of the Headingley hot seat as of 2025 still pretty much up in the air at present.
“I think it’s credit to the club that they’ve made a brave decision,” Arthur told Sky Sports when asked about why it was only a short-term deal. “They’ve got one eye on the future but they see now as really important, and the timing was obviously right for myself.
“I’m up for a new challenge, taking myself out of my comfort zone and for the moment it’s for the rest of this season and we’ll wait and see what happens moving forward. I’m not a ‘no’ and I’m not a ‘yes’, and both parties have been very honest about it.”
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The biggest challenge
Brooks asked Arthur about his biggest challenge from now until the end of the season, and is intentions seemed clear: standards and expectations within the playing group: and accountability.
“I think the squad has got a lot of talent,” he said. “I think there’s some youth there, there’s a couple of 19-year-old kids playing tonight, the average age is 25, I think it’s just making sure that they are really clear on what standards and expectations need to go with playing week-to-week football and then being able to hold each other accountable for it.
“The standards and expectations won’t be based on their talent, it’ll be around attitude, effort and physicality and it’ll be around the choices that they want to make.”
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What does success look like?
At present, Arthur is only here for the remainder of 2024, with a decision regarding 2025 unclear for the man himself and the club: but it’s clear that the new boss is simply focused and the here and now.
“There’s plenty of football left this season,” he continued. “We’re one win out of the top six so we need to make sure that this team consistently challenge against the good teams week in, week out. We can’t hide from the fact that we want to be playing finals (play-offs), that’s why I’ve come here, that’s what the club is about, they want to be playing finals. It has to be (the goal). I think that’s natural, the players want to hear that and I think our fans want to hear that.”
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Brodie Croft
The Rhinos have undoubtedly got a talented team on paper, with a plethora of internationals and experienced players blended with some of Britain’s brightest prospects: but it’s clear that former Man of Steel Brodie Croft will be key if the Rhinos are to enjoy success in the near future.
When Brooks asked Arthur about which players he is looking forward to work with, Arthur replied: “Because I have no preconceived ideas on any of the players and I don’t know a heap about them, I’m looking forward to getting to know them all on a personal level but I think the spine there with Brodie, he’s been in a very good system at the Melbourne Storm and, I think his game, he can really help take this club to the next level. He’s someone who I’m looking forward to working with.”
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A clean slate
Brad Arthur speaks for the first time since being announced as Leeds Rhinos head coach. 🦏🗣️👇 pic.twitter.com/oNO2dpbWbB
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) July 11, 2024
And perhaps the biggest takeaway from Arthur’s first interview is that it’s a clean slate for the playing group at Headingley under Arthur, who guided Parramatta to the NRL Grand Final in 2022.
“I don’t know what’s happened (previously) and the way I look at it is that it’s a clean slate for the players,” he said.
“I don’t really want to talk about what has or hasn’t happened because I haven’t been here to witness that and I haven’t been a part of it, so there’ll be some real clarity about what the expectations and standards will be and the choices they make, and those choices will then be a reflection of decisions that I have to make. But I’m here to help those guys, I want to see them grow, I want to see them grow as individuals and I want to make sure that we can make this club very professional.”
The proof will ultimately be in the pudding whether are the Rhinos are to thrive and succeed under Arthur and enjoy an upturn in form, but his first interview was professional and impressive. A sign of things to come, perhaps?